A Guide to Eighteenth Century Art

(Marvins-Underground-K-12) #1

The display of portraits could fuel both scandal and celebrity. The subjects of actress portraits in
particular might give rise to scurrilous gossip as actresses were often regarded as possessing a
“dangerous” form of female sexuality at odds with the Royal Academy’s claims to moral gravity (Perry,
2007, 2–5, 59–61). Royal subjects were displayed by name.


The size of Royal Academy exhibitions increased dramatically, from 489 works in 1780 to 1195 in 1797
(Sunderland and Solkin, 2001, 23–24). In 1780, 61,000 visitors attended (Sunderland and Solkin, 2001,
37); 55,357 attended in 1783 (Matheson, 2001, 43); and in the 1790s numbers rose again, leading to good
profits. A jury selected for exhibition works submitted by artists from both inside and (unlike at its sister
institution in France) outside the Academy. All academicians had an automatic right to exhibit and their
works were often placed in the best spots.


The display of works in both the Salons and the Royal Academy exhibitions was characterized by a
policy of “massing” works so that they spread through the full width of wall space in all rooms used and
from roughly eye level to the ceiling (Figure 3.5). Artists often took this into account as they produced
works. For example, portrait painters might use brighter colors and tones in order to make their works
stand out. Where appropriate, some works were also shown below eye level so that it was necessary to
stoop to see them: at the Royal Academy in London this often applied to smaller works that needed to be
viewed from close up. Such arrangements of works in close proximity to one another made for chaotic
viewing, especially when works were displayed at some distance from the viewer, who was often jostled
by the crowd. More successful or famous artists often requested that their works be displayed at an
appropriate height and in a prominent position. At the Royal Academy many artists wanted their work to
be displayed above the “line,” which was a narrow molding eight feet from the ground. Paintings just
above this were displayed to full advantage and at an incline, which cut down the amount of shadow.
Gainsborough distanced himself from the Royal Academy after a dispute concerning the height at which
one of his works should be displayed: he had wanted it to cross this “line” in a way that the institution
found unacceptable.

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